Integrated circuits are typically prepared by first patterning a dielectric layer on a wafer (e.g., a silicon wafer) with features as trenches, vias, etc. These features are deposited or formed naturally on a surface of the wafer, and the features are then coated with a barrier layer to prevent electro-migration of metal conducting features into the dielectric layer. The barrier layers are sometimes coated with an adhesion layer to bind the metal conductors to the dielectric. The features are then filled with metal, usually copper and/or its alloys, aluminum and/or its alloys, or tungsten.
The metal deposition process usually results in an excess or overburden of metal on the dielectric surface which must be removed such that the metal interconnects form an absolutely planar surface with the dielectric. This planar quality is commonly referred to as global planarization wherein the surface of the wafer is substantially even over the entire surface. Additional layers are generally deposited over the planar surface. A repeated process of depositing material and performing a planarization of the material surface is typically used to construct an integrated circuit having a multilayer structure. Success of this multilayer process depends on the achieving global planarization at each layer of the formation process.
The process of planarization currently used to polish patterned wafers is referred to in the art as chemical mechanical planarization, or CMP. Traditionally, CMP of patterned wafers has been performed by chemically etching the metal using an abrasive slurry containing hard oxide particles that are suspended in an aqueous solution. The etching process forms a metal oxide on the surface of the metal, and, in a physical sanding action, the abrasive then removes the metal oxide, leaving bare metal to be reoxidized. In present day wafer processing, silica is the dielectric typically used, and silica is usually formed by thermally oxidizing the silicon wafer. Silica is a hard, glassy-like material and usually polishes at a much slower rate than the metal overburden or the metal features that are exposed as the overburden is removed.